Tea with AK71: A day at MBLM.

What is MBLM? It stands for Marina Bay Link Mall. This is the underground mall at MBFC, the development which K-REIT and Suntec REIT would co-own with each having a 33% stake.

I was wondering where should I spend my vacation which starts today and I decided to stay in Singapore instead of going overseas. I would spend time going places here and help to stimulate the local economy. Singapore's domestic economy has been said to be tiny. So, I am doing my patriotic duty by spending my vacation money here instead of going away to a foreign land. Ahem.

So? I like the mall. Shops on both sides, it has a wide centre aisle with high ceiling. It is defnitely less claustrophobic compared to the Citylink Mall (which I somewhat dislike). In time, with the completion of the Downtown Line for the MRT, I am sure MBLM would be just as busy as Citylink Mall but the generous space allowance should be enough to cope with increased human traffic. MBLM also serves the residents of The Sail and Marina Bay Residences condominiums. In fact, half the shoppers at MBLM I saw today were foreigners, probably expatriates, with kids.

Go visit MBLM before it becomes crowded. Now till end of the year, spend $80 at MBLM and we will get $15 shopping voucher plus 4 hours of parking for free. There is also an instant lucky dip to win iPads and iPhones but that's for weekends only and I was so hoping to win an iPad. :(

So, I got my $15 voucher, free parking, wrapping paper for Christmas and 2 lucky draw chances. Hope that I would win 1st prize which is for $8,000 worth of shopping vouchers! Then, I would go to the Apple retailer in the mall and get my iPad, Macbook Air etc. Wah.... Day dreaming. Nice!

Anyway, with 4 hours of free parking, I had time to burn as MBLM is smallish with a floor plan shaped like the letter "L" and not many shops were ready for business. I walked to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to explore the shopping mall.  It was my second time at MBS which has a much bigger shopping mall.  This time round, more shops were open and I didn't have to pay an exorbitant $10 per hour for parking my car! That makes me happy.

Apparently, MBS is now giving free parking for the first 3 hours but one would have to spend $200 at the mall to qualify. I won't qualify. Free parking at MBS costs more than MBLM, if you know what I mean. MBS is for the well heeled, obviously. I like MBLM more which might say something about me. ;)

These are some photos I took with my free Samsung mobile phone which comes with a 5.0 megapixel camera built in. Pretty good shots, aren't they? I still remember when digital cameras were 1.3 megapixel in resolution.

After spending almost 4 hours at Marina Bay, fully utilising my free parking privilege, I went back to Tiong Baru and had a bowl of freshly made bean curd (dou hua) for 60c. Where to find? Tiong Baru Market lor.

Now back in my bedroom, with the air-conditioning set at 25 deg celcius and blogging. Time for a nap! I am a happy man. :)